I think it would be fair to say that many in the world of football were disappointed by the departure of Martin O'Neil at Aston Villa. He turned an under-achieving mid-table side into a top-four contender in the league and seriously challenging in cup competitions. He brought success to his previous clubs at Leicester City and Celtic, and brought hope and excitement at Villa Park. He nurtured and developed young British talent such as Ashley Young, James Milner and Gabriel Agbonlahor. His legacy is still prevalent with emerging new talents in the form of Marc Albrighton and Nathan Delfouneso. However, it all went into turmoil when O'Neil announced his shock exit, days before the opening weekend of the new season. The fingers point towards a breakdown in the relationship between O'Neil and club owner, Randy Lerner. In all fairness to Randy Lerner, he has provided great support to O'Neil as he bankrolled the signings of Young, Milner, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Friedal, Cuellar and others. The players that are mentioned have proved to be astute signings which have improved the side significantly. However, O'Neil has got it wrong at times and some of his signings have not proved to be a return on investment. A lot of money has been spent on Downing and Delph, yet they have struggled for form or fitness. Beye, Shorey, Sidwell, Guzan and Heskey look to be flops and have not added much value to the squad. And it could be these types of signings that have annoyed Lerner as he may feel that some of this money has been ill spent. However, one must also bear in mind that Villa do not boast a sizeable warchest like Manchester City or Chelsea and Lerner cannot compete along those budgets. Nor do they have the revenue income from ticket sales like Old Trafford or the Emirates due to having a stadium with a capacity less than 50,000. Therefore, Villa may not be able to acquire the 'quality' signings they need to push forward. Martin O' Neil may have recognised that Villa may have reached their peak in being a top 6 club in the Premiership and it's difficult for them to go beyond that. This may be why Barry and Milner had moved on to Man City where they could realise their opportunities for realistically challenging for a Champions League place and even play in it within their career span.
But life must move on at Villa Park, otherwise all their hard work will all be in vain and could move backwards. A priority must be to appoint a new manager. Kevin Macdonald has come in as caretaker and has enjoyed a good enough start, with a 3-0 win against West Ham and are still in for contention to progress into the next round of the Europa League. However in my opinion, I believe that an experienced and proven manager is what is best for Villa to move on and progress. Many names have been thrown into the hatincluding former Man City boss Sven Goran Eriksson, current USA coach Bob Bradley and even the Croation coach Slaven Billic. These contenders have enjoyed success previously, but I do not think they would be the right fit for Aston Villa. My choice for this position would be Alan Curbishley. I am sure he is incredibly hungry to prove himself again at a big club after his relatively short stint at West Ham. He enjoyed a long and successful career with Charlton Athletic, along with launching the Premiership careers of Darren Bent, Scott Parker and Paul Konchesky. I think Curbishley can continue to follow through with the ethos of developing young English talent at Villa and bring the best out of Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clarke and Nathan Delfouneso. Also working under a trusted and respected manager, the likes of Friedal, Young and Agbonlahor are unlikely to move onto new pastures.
With 10 days left of the transfer window, Aston Villa have got their work cut out for them if they want to make any signings. The acquisition of Stephen Ireland in the James Milner transfer is a fine one, as Ireland can reproduce his best form within a regular role in the midfield engine room. He has passion, talent and strength, and we could see a revival in his career as seen with former Man City team-mate, Richard Dunne. Ireland was consistently rated as one of the best players in the Eastlands by the backroom staff. However, his temperament was questionable at times and this may have led to him being pushed into the periphery by Mancini. Nevertheless, I feel confident that Ireland can become a great player for Villa and demonstrate why he was even mooted as a potential replacement for Roy Keane at Manchester United. A cause for concern at Villa would be the strikers department. Agbonlahor is young and talented striker who is still learning and has yet to reach his peak. He can be prolific in front of goal, but the burden should not fall entirely on his shoulders. Carew and Heskey are ageing veterans now and cannot be expected to be goal-machines, whilst Delfouneso is still in the transitory period between reserve team football and first team football. With a reported £20 million or more that was exchanged for Milner, Villa should be able to get a quality striker and have some money leftover. Hugo Rodallega of Wigan could fit the bill, as he has shown that he can be lethal in the Premiership with his strength, pace and eye for goal. Barcelona's Bojan has fallen out of favour at Nou Camp due the emergence of Pedro. Bojan is young and talented striker with a rich Catalan education and could add another dimension to largely British squad. However, my recommendation would be Luis Suarez. He was highly sought by Manchester United and Real Madrid after his 49-goals exploit last season at Ajax. Although he engaged in some serious unfair play at the World Cup this year, there is no doubt about his quality and ability to score. He may come at a high cost, but it would be a worthwhile purchase if he forms a deadly strikeforce partnership with Gabriel Agbonlahor.
In conclusion, I would like to say that Martin O'Neil is a man that I highly respect and I wish him all the best in moving on. However I also hope that Aston Villa do not crumble as a consequence as previously seen with clubs that O'Neil has left (Leicester City were relegated from the Premiership and Celtic have struggled to challenge for the SPL title against bitter rivals Ranger). This could prove to be a make or break season for Aston Villa as they look to move on from Martin O'Neil's departure. Randy Lerner must not undo all the hard work that he has done since coming into Villa Park and become another hated American owner like the Glazers or Hicks/Gillet.
